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Dhobi Ghat

It's different, it's sincere, it's inconclusive, it's abstract in its own way. It's intriguing and it leaves you dissatisfied. It has brilliant performances along with some bits of Aamir Khan being Aamir Khan. It is a mellow affair that's soothing yet unnerving.

Dhobi Ghat - Preview

The tagline/alternate name 'Mumbai Diaries' along with what you see in the promos scream - a film set in the city of dreams, which is also the big, bad city. One more film named after another popular location in Mumbai, Bhindi Bazaar - Bhindi Bazaar Inc. is going to be added to this already over-crowded space of Mumbai's underbelly.

Mumbai is cruel yet she can be warm. We know this. Does Kiran Rao & co. have anything new to say, or do they say it in a different way at least? The first promo offers hope. The promos structure itself is intriguing. And the music sticks.

Note how there is absolutely nothing new about the way Mumbai is shot or presented. Nor does it promise to be a 'different' story. It actually clearly indicates that it just might be a boy-meets-girl-meets-boy-meets-girl story. And yet, there is something very engaging about the way it is done. And the hope is that the film will do the same.

The promo was loved by many and did its rounds on Facebook and twitter. And like with any other Aamir Khan product, the expectations are extremely high. With him we have come to expect a sophisticated film. And with every word that he says to belittle our intelligence his own words those expectations only go higher.

You see a glimpse of the smugness in the following video. Only to be completely taken over by how they found one of their main leads.

That's the thing about a film Aamir Khan is associated with, it has that something extra to look forward to despite the 'smarter-than-thou' way in which it is dealt out.

And here's the biggest surprise of them all. In the day and age where Hindi movies are known to rake in the moolah with sale of music albums, Dhobi Ghat doesn't have a music album at all! Now that's being 'different' even by Aamir standards!

- meeta, a part of the audience

Love is elusive. Whatever the heart is after is seldom within reach. In fact, more often than we'd like, even what we 'really' want escapes us. This is the broad stroke Kiran Rao paints with Dhobi Ghat. She does so very quietly, hand-in-hand with her mild, four subdued characters. It actually feels like she's reading their diaries out to us. She passes judgment on the society we form - the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the "educated" and the illiterate, the secularists and the socialists. But she is almost mute as she goes about it. And none of this gets boring BUT the spark is conspicuous by its absence. Like leftover champagne from yesterday - not yet flat but not as relish-worthy as when the cork first popped.

The setting could have been New York, Sydney, or even Pune. Any reasonable-size town is likely to have a slum dweller with larger-than-life aspirations, an NRI poking around the slums, an artist with an attitude, and an unsuspecting immigrant who is trying to figure the city out. Kiran Rao chose Mumbai and I'm not complaining. Mumbai does have her way of providing warmth with ruggedness, and that is the exact texture Dhobi Ghat gives the maya-nagri.

Besides, I love the city and I romanticize my visits there just like Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) does with her home videos. Her awe is as evident as her discomfort. Her resolve to find amusement in her boring life is ironic considering the hustle around her. It ain't new but the contrast hasn't come through in a movie earlier. Isn't it amazing that in a city where even stray dogs seem to be in a rush, housewives (other than Yasmin too) entertain themselves with TV in the middle of the day?

You observe Yasmin along with Arun (Aamir Khan). Her simple story is absorbing. And it's very intriguing that Yasmin aroused more emotion and attachment than the more complex Arun. Maybe that's how it was meant to be, because Arun is supposed to evoke indifference. But such characters who don't make me feel anything for them leave me dissatisfied with the movie experience. Arun might just be the weakest character of the four. After all he's the only one who gets relatively melodramatic in this subtle environment, albeit only towards the end.

And yet not everyone is me. Arun does manage to capture Shai's (Monika Dogra)imagination. A large part of Shai represents the stereotype of the returned-non-resident Indian who is on a poverty tour. But her emotions for Arun make you feel for her and reach out to her.

And in turn you also want good things to happen to Munna (Prateik). You know his desires are beyond his reach, but you smile at his immaturity and want him to learn from his mistakes. I loved the person he grows to become.

Like them or not, each character has been written in detail and has an arc of their own. And that is what keeps the viewer going in this otherwise dull ambience. There are some brilliant, mostly-earthy performances; except for Aamir Khan who pretty much stays the star he is. There's also the slight touch of humor. But, it slides into documentary mode every once in a while. There are certainly no conclusions, no strong messages, nothing that can be called 'entertaining'. The intention is to leave the audience high and dry.

Yet the seasoned festival delegate will find Dhobi Ghat like every other 'decent' film he sees. And the masala-seeker might just curse the money he spent on the Aamir Khan brand. It is for the in-betweens that the film will work for best.

And this takes nothing away from debutant director Kiran Rao. I like her casting. The charming faces are the aces in her sleeve. I like the milieu she has created, especially the home video parts. I like her taste in background music and her decisions on when to use it and not. And yet I can't point a finger at why this was a fine but not a wholesome experience. Maybe because I'm made to see how lonely each one of us is, no matter what our background is...

Thumbs up,
by Naresh Deoshi,
Apun Ka Choice
:
...It’s surely not a film for the suckers of speed - the folks who trip on imaginative shot compositions, slick editing, brisk pace punctuated with quip-heavy dialogues and more such screenplay-savvy gimmickry....
full review

Thumbs up,
bigoye.com
:
...Kiran Rao has delivered a unique cinematic experience and she is one filmmaker who slips into the top slot with her maiden venture....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Baradwaj Rangan,
Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express
:
...With just four players, she attempts to communicate an impression of the teeming symphony that is Mumbai, and she follows the path trodden by recent first-time female filmmakers like Nandita Das and Zoya Akhtar...
full review

Thumbs up,
Bollywood Mantra
:
...‘Dhobi Ghat’ is a step forward to bring the parallel cinema to the mainstream. As all new transition takes time, this type of films will also take their own suitable time to impress their audience....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Manu Agrawal,
Desi Martini
:
...Prateik was amazing as a passionate youngster falling in love, while Monica sizzled as the innocent seductress. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Rony D'costa,
Desi Martini
:
...Kiran Rao s direction is like meditation. Calm, composed and exploring moments like Arun adding rain water in his whisky or Yasmin writing a name on the sand which the waves keep on erasing all the time. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Payal Khanna,
Desi Martini
:
...Not too long and neither too short to leave the mystery unsolved, Dhobi Ghat is still director and writer Kiran Rao's good attempt at first shot....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Rhea Srivastava,
Desi Martini
:
...Kriti Malhotra's track, the only one which isn't directly related to any other, is yet the most moving because of her ease with the camera, literally....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Deepa Gahlot,
Film Impressions
:
...Even with Aamir Khan sticking out with his confused what-to-do demeanor, and its self-conscious artiness, the film is worth a look for the charm of the other actors and the inexorable beauty-in-ugliness (shot with love by Tushar Kanti Ray), of the city. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Sukanya Venkatraghavan,
Filmfare
:
...Aamir Khan as Arun the painter brings a presence to the film that is reassuring....
full review

Thumbs up,
by K K Rai,
Filmfare
:
...Kittu Gidwani and others provide able support to the main cast of the flick.
...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Divya solgama,
Gomolo.in
:
...Prateik marked her debut in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, he has done a good job out here too, but still has to learn more in this field. His natural instincts are good and manage to leave a mark in the climax shot....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Kaveree Bamzai,
india today
:
...
Some directors use sledgehammers to make their point. Others use a scalpel. Well, welcome the scalpel. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Sanjukta Sharma,
Live Mint
:
...The film’s narrator is Yasmin, who has an overawed, and often poetic, point of view of the city—its rain, filth, the sea and throbbing human convergences....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Sarita Tanwar,
MiD DAY
:
...Viewers will go in expecting a certain kind of a film -- what with Aamir Khan in it -- and might feel they haven't got their money's worth....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Aseem Chhabra,
Outlook India
:
...Dhobi Ghat has a sad soul, but it is a very satisfying film-going experience....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Padmaja Thakore,
Passion for Cinema
:
...Background score by Gustavo Santaolalla is outstanding in its support of a film that tells a large part of its story visually and moves at a reflective pace...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Magik,
Passion for Cinema
:
...The last time I remember feeling so hysterical after watching a film was Pankaj Sir’s ‘Sankat City’ (May his soul rest in peace). ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Lidia Ostepeev,
Planet Bollywood
:
...Although Khan gives a contained and understated performance, he is just too emphatic a presence. It’s hard to suspend disbelief when you have megawatt star power blazing in front of you. Instead of getting lost in his character, I found myself thinking about the actor and how different this role is from his previous ones. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Shilpa Jamkhandikar,
Reuters
:
...Rao captures this and so many other myriad hues of the city marvellously in her directorial debut, a deeply insightful portrait of four individuals who find and lose love and deal with loneliness in Mumbai....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Ruchi Mehta,
Roochster
:
...The background music is perfect for the movie and the fact that there was no interval really works. It keeps you hooked....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Sonia Chopra,
Sify Movies
:
...You have delicious moments like street children dancing an impromptu jig on seeing her camera, or a housemaid captured reluctantly on tape with her educated daughter reciting Tennyson. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by K N Gupta,
SmasHits.com
:
...the director succeeds in delivering well-founded characters in a good plot and script. The canvas looks real and that's a director's job well done...
full review

Thumbs up,
The Friday Freak
:
...I normally do not review Aamir Khan movies, because I know the movie will be awesome and it’s a waste of my ticket money to see movies that are destined to be epic ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by Nikhat Kazmi,
Times of India
:
...a compelling picture of urban angst that has become the hallmark of big city life....
full review

Thumbs up,
by Rummana Ahmed,
yahoo! India
:
...Kiran handles Yasmin with rare craftsmanship and it's her story that stays with you even after you have left the theatre, almost like Satyajit Ray's handling of Charulata's boredom and heartache. ...
full review

Thumbs up,
by SpiceZee Bureau,
Zee News
:
...Amidst the ocean of humanity in a city that is known for its cosmopolitanism, the four actors portray characters that are nothing but real. ...
full review

So-So,
by Nishtha Bhatnagar,
Alpha
:
...Dhobi Ghat is like reading a book that leaves you somewhat intrigued and somewhat confused with its story, language and build up.Dhobi Ghat is like reading a book that leaves you somewhat intrigued and somewhat confused with its story, language and build up....
full review

So-So,
by Bollyfan,
Cinemaa Online
:
...Aamir delivers one of his best performances to date, his body language, facial expressions and eyes speaking volumes. Though he’s discernibly ill-at-ease with the English dialogue, the lack of self-confidence glaring....
full review

So-So,
by Vikramjit,
Desi Martini
:
...If a film resembles the mind of a maker, Kiran Rao's must be a half painted canvas, showing the brightest of colors but never giving you the complete picture....
full review

So-So,
by Gaurav Gadre,
Desi Martini
:
...Monica Dogra as Shai was better than most of the
other over rated star kids in the industry....
full review

So-So,
by Deepa Garimella,
fullhyd.com
:
...And then, of course, there's Aamir Khan, not saying a lot, but lending a whole lot of body to a film that otherwise tends to slip into gimmicky-arty mode....
full review

So-So,
by Rajeev Masand,
IBN Live
:
...Director Kiran Rao makes some interesting points, but there are a few things that just don’t work. The overuse of coincidence, for one....
full review

So-So,
by Shubhra Gupta,
indian express
:
...Her drawing of Arun aka Aamir, who claims he had to fight for the part, is ironically the weakest strand. ...
full review

So-So,
by Komal Nahta,
koimoi
:
...Masses may avoid; classes may go for a different experience....
full review

So-So,
Mixed Bag
:
...Gustavo Santaoalla’s music was intertwined carefully in the movie with one dhobi and too many ghats and the background score quite well complemented the backdrop of Mumbai. Slow and addictive. ...
full review

So-So,
by Raj Narayan,
MSN Entertainment
:
...Good production values, decent actors, a nuanced director for the future, haunting music. Now, if only someone had tried to weave in some drama and tried to tell a story....
full review

So-So,
by Noyon Jyoti Parasara,
Now Running.com
:
...Do not expect to see an Aamir Khan entertainer. Go only if you have an appetite for such cinema. ...
full review

So-So,
by Raja Sen,
Rediff
:
...She clearly cares for her characters and has a massive crush on Bombay, her leading lady. Yet her lovesong, however earnest, just doesn't sound good enough....
full review

So-So,
by Janhvi Patel,
StarBoxOffice
:
...Aamir Khan gets into the skin of his loner painter character beautifully. He leaves his superstar aura behind and makes Arun very real...
full review

Thumbs down,
by Gautam Chintamani,
Buzz in Town
:
...The whole deal of three or four characters whose lives collide and alter the course of their very existence has been done to death and Rao’s film does have a big Inarritu hangover....
full review

Thumbs down,
by Blessy Chettiar,
DNA
:
...Singer-turned-actress Dogra is a natural and complements Babbar well. We’d definitely like to see more of the multi-talented Dogra. ...
full review

Thumbs down,
by Mansi,
Everything Movies
:
...It wasn't just me fidgety and cringing in my seat. I could hear people behind me whispering, '15 more minutes to go,' and comments which, honestly, were more entertaining than the dialogues. ...
full review

Thumbs down,
by Minty Tejpal,
Mumbai Mirror
:
...Since the slice-of-life film neither has an interval nor any discernible plot, you are by now squirming as the slim story loops around itself....
full review

Thumbs down,
by Kunal Guha,
yahoo! India
:
...Watching a 95-minute-break-free movie (no interval here!) means a break from munching, slurping and burping (unless you stock up before you enter the screen). But for Dhobi Ghat, unfortunately, this undivided attention was completely undeserved....
full review

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Plot Summary

A story that connects a slum dweller with larger-than-life aspirations (Munna - Prateik), an NRI poking around the slums (Shai - Monica Dogra), an artist with an attitude (Arun - Aamir Khan), and an unsuspecting immigrant who is trying to figure the city out (Yasmeen - Kriti Malhotra).

What Worked

Aamir Khan's character Arun, like him in real life, doesn't like public appearances. :)

The tribute paid to people from all over India who made Mumbai

The first exchange between Shai and Munna

The comment on our education system that just has her learn by rote rather than understand what we read.

Yasmeen's last scene - it was almost as if she were speaking and apologizing to Arun

Prateik's last action. That one little thing said so many things!

What did not

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

Prateik's desparate attempt to droop his shoulders to show Munna's submissive nature.

Comments (13)

Should be interesting to see how the media receives this film. I am pretty sure it will be a sensible film, whether it will be entertaining or not, only time can tell. But after Peepli Live, the media has elevated Aamir Khan to a pedestal of master marketeer from where they can either pull him down or justify their previous tag!

Just watched the movie last night, I liked it very much. Prateik's performance was just amazing.

Arvind Singh has given this movie a Yay! Thumbs Up(You will definitely enjoy this film if you watch it with some patience and an open mind.).
Arvind Singh has posted 1 comments and has rated 1 movies. See Arvind Singh's page for more details.

i think movie worked well with me. I went without expectations and was ready for anything thrown at me (yes an avid AK fan so .... )... i am usually interested in the way the picturisation is and from previous exp with AK movies i know that this is a important feature of his movies (although this one is a KR) i love the treatment to the film ..there is warmth in way the subject of city is handled ... subtlety in actions of each of the characters, simply fact a young woman can ask a dhobi for a cup of tea .... how many of us can imagine doing that!!

Trupz has given this movie a Yay! Thumbs Up.
Trupz has posted 3 comments and has rated 2 movies. See Trupz's page for more details.